The 25th Hunger Games
by Demonking123
Summary: 75 was the Revolution. 50 was Haymitch. Now, for the 25th Hunger Games, Juniper will be battling Friends, Foes, and maybe a new boyfriend, for the ultimate prize. With Twists and Turns at every corner, don't be surprised that you want to continue reading.
1. One week Prior

_Dear Diary,_

_The reaping is in one week. I am more scared than I have ever been in my entire life. I am 12 years old; just old enough to be entered in these games. I am from district 11. I must be strong in front of my 19 and 20 year old brothers, Jake and Paul. They won in consecutive years. My mother wishes that she does not have to endure the pain and suffering of the Hunger Games anymore, but my family has always been unlucky._

I got out of bed and put on some nice trousers, as well as a white t-shirt. I walked outside with my brothers on either side. We parted ways at the town centre. The twelve to eighteen year olds stood closest to the makeshift stage. Sadly, it was right beside the barracks, prison and whipping stations. On stage was the District 11 administrator and escort Jewel Martin. "Welcome everyone! My name as you all know is Jewel Martin. This will be the twenty fifth annual Hunger Games, so as a special bonus, this shall be known as the Quarter Quell." Jewel squeaked. She took out a large box filled with what appeared to be flashcards, out from under the podium. She picked out a random card and read it aloud. "Since the districts alone chose to rebel against the loving capital, for this year's Quarter Quell, the tributes will be chosen by their own district on the day of the reaping."

Everyone around me grew tense. I was shifting uncomfortably and some fourteen year olds were giving each other nervous glances. No one in the entire district spoke a word. Only the sounds of the Mockingjays could be heard from the fields. I didn't know what to do. My friend, Jackson appeared behind me. He just turned fourteen years old and started to sign up for the extra rations of grain. His name would have been entered twelve times this year. I was scared what would happen with this strange year's games. "Are you okay Juniper?" Jackson asked me nervously. I brushed my long brown hair out of my eyes and nodded. We stood together until Jewel finished her yearly speech on how excited we should be that the games are almost upon us.

Jackson looked at me with his bright green eyes. "Come with me. I have to show you something." He held my hand and led me out of the crowd. As we walked around the stockades, I realized that none of the peacekeepers were guarding the town centre this year. It was strange but I did not question it. We finally stopped walking when we reached the edge of the district. The fence that surrounded us and protected us from wild animals was humming loudly. He was still holding my hand, so I blushed bright red. He looked down and realized this. He let go of my hand and blushed redder than I possibly could.

We stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before a loud bird squawked. Jackson cleared his throat and said, "I think you should leave the district." I couldn't believe it. My best friend telling me to leave. My heart sank a bit, thinking he was going to tell me something else… not that I wanted him to… all I could say was "Um." He looked sad. "I overheard some peacekeepers talking about these Hunger Games. They said something about sending the children of some resistance fighters into the games. They are going to try to rig the elections. I was nervous because your mother fought them in the dark days. This means that you have a strong chance of going into them. And…well…I don't want to see you get hurt." I once again blushed uncontrollably.

We started to walk back to our houses. Jewel's speech was long over, which means our parents must be worrying about us. _My mother fought in the resistance and used a gun. _I thought, _and I'm not even allowed to leave the house after dark._

How times must have changed.


	2. The Reaping

_Dear Diary,_

_The day is finally upon me. I'm scared. The reaping. Again, I'm scared. I am not the most loved person in district 11. I have to stay strong. For my mother and brothers. These Quarter Quells make the yearly Hunger Games even more horrific than ever. The likelihood of me being chosen as the female tribute is pretty slim…_

The day of the reaping. Again, we made our way towards the stage. Jewel Martin was sitting beside the mayor. As all the twelve to eighteen year olds shuffled into the square, Jewel stood up and walked to the podium. She quickly but loudly cleared her throat and began to say, "Welcome District 11! And right down to business. Last night, all the citizens above the age of nineteen voted on who will be entering these games." My chest tightened. I didn't know that they already voted. I looked around, trying to spot Jackson. I saw him staring at me with his intense eyes. I turned away while blushing.

"Let us start with the female tribute." She took out a card. On the back was written female. "The first tribute shall be…

Juniper Everdeen!" **(Bet you didn't suspect that)** I started to tear up. Slowly I walked up to the stage and took a seat in the chair labeled female tribute. Growing up in a house with two victors means that I had much finer things than most of the district. That includes this awfully uncomfortable chair I was sitting in at the moment. I squirmed uncontrollably. I could see my mother at the back of the square. She was crying and hugging my brothers. They looked at me with solemn faces. I was much younger than them when they won. They were each fifteen when they won in consecutive years.

"Now, for the male tribute." Jewel said after a long pause. "Jackson Smith!"

Once again, my chest tightened. _How can this be happening? _I asked myself. _I know why I'm going in, but everyone loves Jackson._ I was thinking about how I met him at school. He was always surrounded by girls. I remember him walking down the halls trailed by his followers. I was putting books into my schoolbag, when my shelves broke down and all my papers flew everywhere. I started to clean them up when I saw him standing over me, holding some of my books. "These are yours." Jackson said gently to me, handing over the books. I quickly snatched them, angry that he talked to me like I was a little girl. But then again he is a two years older than me and I was eight. Even back then, I think he liked me. Well, I did have a small crush on him…but boys had cooties so I wasn't going to do anything…but he was still cute.

Jackson sat down next to me in the Male Tribute seat. He looked at me sadly. I knew that the chances were that neither of us would be returning home.


	3. Final Goodbyes

_Dear Diary,_

_After being chosen for the Hunger Games, I realized how much I would be leaving behind. My mother, my brothers. Jackson would be coming with me but that doesn't make me any happier. My brothers never suspected that I would be entering the Games, so they never taught me anything they learnt. Luckily, I do have an advantage. I know how the pre-games affect the willingness of sponsors. I now know that I need to learn as much as I can in the training room as possible. I may have a small chance of winning, but there is one thing I know for sure: I won't go down without a fight._

The tributes stayed in the mayor's house, until it was time to leave. A few people were allowed to say goodbye to us. My mom was the first to enter the room. Her eyes were red from crying. She was the saddest I have ever saw her. She opened her arms and I went straight into them, feeling a little teary myself. We stayed in that position until the guards opened the doors and led her away.

My next guest was my eldest brother Paul. He slowly walked into the room, admiring his surroundings. It had been years since he had been in that room. But for him it reminded him of his extraordinary victory. He turned to look at me. His face had a grim look to it. I have only ever seen that face once before; my other brother's Hunger Games. He put a hand on my shoulder. "You're going to need to find trees. Being from district 11 and being light. You can stay up there for pretty much the whole game." That's Paul. Always right down to business. "Also, in the training area, practice with the weapons and fire. Those will help you. Also, I am very sad to say that siblings cannot be mentors. You will be having the same mentor that Jake and I had."

Paul gave me one final hug, and whispered in my ear, "good luck", before he left the room. Jake walked into the room. He looked almost identical to Paul, with his black leather jacket and red t-shirt. His dark brown hair always gelled to one side. Jake was always the cheerful one out of the three of us. "All I have to say is one word; plus the ones that explain it." He said with a joking smile. I grinned.

"Allies. Have at least one. Make sure he or she is trust worthy, but never let your guard down, not for an instant. And even though Paul likes fighting with hedge-clippers, I always preferred the Bow and Arrow. There will always be at least one bow. Oh and I won't be giving you a hug until you come off the train on your return trip home."

Jake gave me a small wink, then turned and left. I knew my mother wouldn't want to visit me. She never visited my brothers when they were heading off to the arena. I know she will be huddled in her room crying herself to sleep every night, waiting for the horrific games to end.

Two peace keepers entered the room and told me to stand up. I did as they commanded, then followed them to the train station, then onto the train itself. I was scared; I had never been on a train before.


	4. Sorry about the wait

Sorry I had not updated in such a long time. I had three chapters finished for this story, when my computer crashed and I lost everything. I hope to have the next chapter up very soon!


	5. The Train Ride There

_Dear diary, the train is a lot larger than I expected. There is as much food as I could eat, and as much water as I could drink. I sometimes look out of the window and watch the forest pass by. We are still a few hours from the capitol. I try to talk with Jackson but he seems very sullen. He stays in his room and sulks. It makes me sad to see this side of him. He was always like an older brother to me…_

The train was vibrating from side to side. The diamond chandeliers were shaking, but I was not scared that it was going to fall. I walked around to different rooms. They were all so colorful and bright and expensive-looking.

Suddenly, a small hidden door opened from behind me. I literally jumped. It was Jewel Martin followed by a short guy. He looked really tough. "Hi," I managed to squeak. Jewel looked at me and smiled. "There she is. Our female tribute. Juniper, this is Frederick. He was the winner of the games thirteen years ago. That's the twelfth Hunger Games. Frederick stepped forward and raised his arm. I shook his hand.

"Well." He said in a calm, unwavering voice. "You must be Juniper Everdeen. I knew your mother. You look just like her." I blushed a bit. He smiled. He clapped his hands together. "Since this is the first Quarter Quell, I think I should tell you some important things that I learned while touring the capitol. One, the arena will be twice as big as normal. Whatever it looks like, there will be a large stash of special goodies. Take one step in that direction and you'll be dead faster than you could say home."

I took a deep breath. My brothers told me as much, but it's hard for me to hear that coming from someone I never met before. "Do you think I will be able to survive without a weapon?" I asked.

"No."

"Then why make me run in the opposite direction? Shouldn't I run, get a weapon, and then run away? Just like my brothers did?"

"Ah now I remember you fully, your brothers were back to back champions. That was a good time for district eleven."

I nodded. "You know," Frederick continued, "There is one difference between you and them."

"What is it?" I asked.

"They both knew how to hold and use a scythe. They were working in the fields before the games. You are still too young to even know how to hold one. I allowed them to find a weapon of their choice, as long as they carried a scythe with them at all times."

Frederick put his arm around me. "I have an idea for you. I want you to put on your brightest smile and get as many sponsors as possible. Train with every small, easily concealable weapon and practice with a bow and arrow. After that, make some allies. Once you do all that to my satisfaction, I will give you special pointers. I have a plan to bring you or your friend over there back home. Amaze me."

With that final dark note, the train came to a stop. Outside of the Capitol.


	6. The First Day of Training

**Hello all you people reading this story… that is all.**

_Dear diary,_

_The capitol is nothing like how I expected it to be. I thought it was going to be tall buildings surrounded by Peacekeepers. Instead, we are surrounded by fans screaming our names. I try to do as Frederick told me. I smile and wave and write my name on paper with our pictures. Jackson just stands solemnly in line and tries to get through the crowd as fast as possible. I don't know what got into him. I am enjoying myself as much as a girl can before being shipped off to fight to her death. I will practice. I will fight. I will win. If not for me, then for my mother._

We entered a large room filled with swords and knives and other weapons of individual destruction. A small woman was standing on a podium in front of us. "Welcome to the training room! In this room you will learn how to fight and survive. If you want a partner, please use a staff member. You will have enough time to fight each other in the arena…After last year's awfully short Hunger Games; the good people of the capitol want you to be trained even more, to make this the longest Hunger Games ever. Before the Initial chariot ride for the sponsors, you will have an extra four days of practice. Have fun."

With that, she let us go try out some things for ourselves. I went straight for the poisonous bug and animal section. I looked behind me. Many people were going straight for the weapons. Some people were actually following me. They must know that my brothers were victors as well.

I looked at each insect. I picked up a beetle with a small orange stripe down its back. I showed it to the staff member and said, "Poisonous." He nodded with an encouraging smile. "Oh, so you know your bugs I see. Not many people like this station, but once they are in the arena with no food, bugs can mean the difference between life and death." I smiled back at him.

I stayed at that section until I saw that three of the career tributes were coming to this section. I got up and went to the archery station. I picked up the bow and placed an arrow onto the string. Standing side ways from the target, I pulled the string. I took two steady breaths. I let the arrow fly. It flew straight into the target's head area. I took another arrow and drew back the bow. Again, I let the arrow soar. This time it landed on the target's open palm. I grumbled in frustration. I was aiming for his abdomen.

The woman from the beginning called us together. "Well done for your first day. We will all return here at 10:00 am. Sharp. If you sleep in and miss the time, the doors will be closed to you, until the next day. Return to you rooms and have a good sleep."

This was not the most successful first day, but I still had a while before the judges will mark our score. I was tired, but confident that I could improve. By the time the games begin, I plan to be as deadly as any of those bugs.


End file.
